Ice breaking attachment for vessels



M. COLLIER ICE BREAKING ATTACHMENT FOR VESSELS Aug. 8, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June l, 1948 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 8, 1950 o N l T Eo N's TAT Es f 2,517,978

ICE BREAKING ATTACHMENT FOR VESSELS Millard/Collier, Vinita, Okla.

Application June 1, 1948, Serial No. 30,272

1 Claim.

This invention relates to ice breakers for ships, and more particularlyto an adjustable ice breaking apparatus for attachment to the prow of avessel.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved icebreaking attachment for vessels which is simple in construction, easy toinstall and which is adjustable in accordance with the thickness of theice crust to be penetrated.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved ice breakingattachment for ships which is relatively light in weight, very rugged inconstruction and which is adapted to apply a thrust to the ice crustimmediately below the crust forwardly of the prow of a ship to force thecrust upwardly and laterally whereby the ice is broken in an efiicientmanner and with a minimum amount of retardation of the vessel.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claims, and from the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken through the forwardportion of the hull of a vessel equipped with an ice breaking attachmentconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the prow of the vessel of Figure1, showing the attachment in front view.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the forward hull portion of thevessel of Figure 1 showing the ice breaking attachment in sideelevation.

Referring toI the drawings, designates the conventional forward hullportion of a ship. Secured to the upper prow side portions of the hullare respective elongated plate members I2, I2 and secured to each platemember I2 are the spaced bifurc-ated brackets I3, I3. Secured to thelower prow side portions approximately at the Water line are additionalpairs of spaced bifurcatecl brackets Ill, I4. Pivotally secured to eachbracket I4 is a forwardly and outwardly extending substantiallyhorizontal bar member I5.

Designated at I6 are inclined barl members respectively secured at theirforward ends to the ends of the respective bar members I5, and connectedat their rear ends, by means of turn buckles Il, to the respectivebrackets I3. Secured to the inclined bar members I6 at each side of theprow are a plurality of spaced parallel laterally inclined bar membersI8, said bar members extending laterally beyond the longitudinalvertical side planes of the vessel and being rigidly connected at theirouter ends by bar members I9. The inner ends of the bar members I8 arerigidly secured to a forwardly and downwardly inclined heavy angle bar20 formed at its forward end with a pointed tip 2|. By adjustment of theturnbuckles I'I the depth of tip 2| below the water line may beaccurately regulated.

In operation of the device, the turnbuokles I'I are'adjusted so that thebreaker tip 2| is immediately beneath the crust of the ice. As thevessel moves forwardly, tip 2| engages beneath the crust and -applies anupward concentrated thrust thereto which fractures the crust. The brokenice blocks are then moved upwardly and vlaterally on the latticestructure defined by the bar members |8 and are nally dumped laterallyof the longitudinal vertical side planes of the vessel. A channel isthus cleared for the forward movement of the ships.

It will be noted that the lowermost lattice bars I8 are at approximatelythe same level as the breaker tip 2|. This insures that the broken crustfragments will be moved up on the lattice continuously as the vesselmoves forwardly. The spacing between'the lattice bars I8 is maderelatively close to prevent large blocks of ice from lodging between thelattice bars.

While a specific embodiment of an ice breaking attachment for vesselshas been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understoodthat various modications within the spirit of the invention may occur tothose skilled in the art. Therefore it is intended that no limitationsbe placed on the invention except as dened by the scope of the appendedclaim.

What is claimed is:

An ice breaking attachment for a vessel, comprising a fender to bearranged in advance of the bow of the vessel, said fender taperingforwardly |and including vertically inclined frames, each frameincluding spaced horizontal bars extending longitudinally of the frame,vertically inclined transverse end and intermediate bars rigidly securedto the longitudinal bars, the inner inclined bars of the frame beingsecured together and extending forwardly beyond the frames and beingpointed, plates secured to the opposite sides of the bow near its top,brackets secured to the plates, turn-buckles secured to the brackets andto the rear ends of the vertically inclined intermediate bars, lowerbrackets secured to the opposite sides of the bow, lower horizontalattaching bars secured to the lowermost longitudinal bars of the framesand pvotally connected with UNITED STATES PATENTS the lower brackets toswing vertically, the lower Number Name Date horizontal attaching barsof each frame being 143 003 Ford Sept 23 1873 disposed upon the innersides of the intermediate 151774 Grant" June 9 1874 incline bars landdiverging rearwardly with rela- 5 384593 schler June 12 1388 tion therett0 laterally brace the frame. 15138:'525 Zakt May 4 1915 MILLARDCOLLIER.

FOREIGN PATENTS REFERENCES CITED Number Country Date The followingreferences are' of record inthe l. 10.4'037 Great Bntam Feb' 22 1917file of this patent:

